A wonderful walk in Vienna

29th July 2014

The Ringstrasse in Vienna was the favourite walk of one of Vienna’s most famous residents, the late psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. He loved it so much, he enjoyed the five-mile walk around this famous circular road every day! So we sent our Jet2.com Inbound Marketing Manager, Steve Adamson, to see what all the fuss is about.

Beauty by the river

I began my walk alongside the sepia tones of the Danube Canal, a lovely water channel that plays host to festivals and food markets over the summer. The Ringstrasse runs around Vienna’s Innere Stadt, which is the Old Town of Vienna, so I soon came across my first historic sight – the grand facade of the War Ministry Building.

Continuing south, I then popped into the Museum of Applied Arts. Commonly known as MAK Vienna, I was wowed by the creative designs on show, from contemporary art to stunning modern home ware.

Strolling in the park

Given its illustrious status, I was expecting the Ringstrasse to be lined with nothing but monuments and grand buildings, but it’s actually surprisingly green too. The Stadtpark was one of my favourite parks on the route. I wandered through to enjoy a Viennese einspanner – espresso coffee served with a dollop of cream – while admiring the many stone statues and colourful flower gardens.

Central attractions

I found many of Vienna’s most famous museums in the middle of the Ringstrasse. Within this small area, I was dazzled by the armoury collection at the Neue Burg Museum, as well as the famous works by Velazquez, Rembrandt and Raphael in the gorgeous golden interiors of the Museum of Fine Arts. The Natural History Museum also sits opposite, and is filled with all sorts of incredible artefacts, such as complete dinosaur fossil skeletons and a huge topaz crystal!

Grand designs

After feeling rather more enlightened than when I set off for my walk, I headed north back towards the canal and spotted a series of marvellous buildings on the way. This began with the Austrian Parliament Building created in the late 1800s. I loved its neoclassical stonework of temples and columns with a beautiful fountain in its centre. After which, I still made time to admire the Gothic spires of the Vienna City Hall.

Nearing the end of my journey, I was beginning to feel tired after nearing five miles of walking. That’s why the Austrian National Theatre offered a lavish respite. I had tickets to see a Brecht play on the huge main stage – a fitting way to draw the curtain on this beautiful walk.

Jet2.com flies to Vienna from Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle.